Dealing with bullying behaviours in chickens

We love the idyllic idea of flocks of free ranging chickens, who live peacefully amongst each other and with us. What happens when this is not possible due to legal housing restrictions for poultry or practical reasons due to predators? Your chickens might start to bully each other. Fiona and Hugh Osborne look at the options to deal with bullying.

- By Fiona and Hugh Osborne look at the options to deal with bullying.

STOP IT!

The shout I make when I see any bullying behaviour is always “Stop It!”. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what I say, the chickens still do what they want to do, and it doesn’t make a difference. There are effective things that we can do, both preventative and curative, so we don’t panic.

The first thing to do is to define what bullying is. Flocks do have a pecking order with clearly defined hierarchies. Older hens normally hold positions of seniority, even when they are tiny, and younger chickens are subordinate. Normally, when the pecking order is settled, and everyone understands and accepts their positions, the flock is calm and gets along well. This doesn’t mean that everything is sweetness and light. Youngsters will still push their luck in trying to climb the hierarchical ladder and older chickens may become bad tempered and less tolerant, although this is less likely while free ranging in a large space.

At this time, the type of behaviour that you’re likely to see is lunging towards each other, with very little contact. At worst there will be a light contact which results in surprise, not pain and perhaps senior chickens chasing juniors away from food treats. This might raise some blood pressure for new chicken keepers, but it’s not something to be concerned about. When it crosses a line, you could see one or more of these behaviours:

• Sustained chasing which does not stop

• Pulling feathers from other chickens causing bald spots

• Pecking at bald spots on other chickens causing red, sore skin and/or broken skin

• Preventing other chickens from accessing feeders or drinkers

• Flying at chickens with claws first

• Causing injury resulting in bleeding

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